In a Bleak Camp, Rwanda Refugees Say Each Tribe Is Joining in the Killing

By DONATELLA LORCH,

Published: May 18, 1994

NTOBEYE, Tanzania, May 17—
For the first time since Rwandans by the tens of thousands began fleeing to Tanzania two weeks ago from army-led massacres in their homeland, refugees are bringing eyewitness accounts of killings by rebel soldiers, too, United Nations officials here say.

The scope of the killings, small compared with the slaughter by Government troops, has been described by Rwandans arriving in this tiny village in northwest Tanzania.

The encampment along the Kagera River is so remote -- four hours by foot from the nearest passable dirt road -- that it was not until a few days ago that the United Nations discovered that 14,000 Rwandans had taken refuge here. All had waded through swamps or forded the river to avoid the main crossing at Rusumo, just north of here, which is guarded by soldiers from the rebel Rwanda Patriotic Front. Shifting the Blame

Until now, the deaths of uncounted tens of thousands have been attributed to Rwandan Army troops or to loosely organized militias dominated by members of the Hutu tribe.

Since April 6, when President Juvenal Habyarimana died in a suspicious plane crash, the military has systematically massacred not only thousands from the minority Tutsi tribe but also moderate Hutu associated with the Habyarimana Government. As the killing spread, refugees, mostly Tutsi, trudged into Burundi, Zaire, Uganda and Tanzania.

But in recent weeks, as the Tutsi-led Patriotic Front advanced, more than 200,000 Hutu who feared retribution have also fled into Tanzania.

Heavy fighting between Government troops and the Patriotic Front continues in the capital, Kigali. But the rebels now control about half of Rwanda, and its soldiers are reported to be moving toward Gitarama, in the south, where the army-backed Government has set up offices. Tutsi Deny Killings

Much more disciplined and organized than the Rwanda military, the Patriotic Front has said it wants to take over the rest of Rwanda to end the massacres and it insists that its soldiers will not engage in revenge.

Officials of the Patriotic Front deny their soldiers are attacking civilians and insist that the border with Tanzania remains open. But representatives of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees say many of the 3,000 to 4,000 refugees arriving here daily have described rebel assaults on unarmed civilians.

Late last week, relief officials saw a village in flames on the Rwanda side of the river in rebel-controlled territory. Until five days ago, journalists crossed freely into Rwanda at Rusumo and were provided with rebel escorts; since then they have been denied access and told that no escorts were available.

"In the last few days, we have started getting horrific stories by refugees saying they have witnessed killings," said Panos Moumtzis, a spokesman for the United Nations agency. "Until now, all the refugees told us was stories of running away because they were scared. What you see is that war in Rwanda is beyond rules and control.

"We feel desperate because nothing is changing in Rwanda. People are being killed; thousands a day are crossing into Tanzania. Something has to be done and done immediately."

Mr. Moumtzis said one refugee family had reported that rebel soldiers had taken seven neighbors and buried them alive in a latrine. Other refugees, interviewed separately, said guerrillas had invited Hutu civilians to a reconciliation meeting at a school, where they were killed.

Some refugees said about 20 Rwandans trying to cross the border had been shot and killed as they approached the river, United Nations officials reported. 'Then They Killed You'

Here in Ntobeye (pronounced EN-toe-BAY-ee), several refugees told similar stories about the rebels.

"They told us to stay, that there was no need to run," said a Hutu university student who did not want to give his name. "If you are Hutu, they tell us, we are going to save you. You told them you were Hutu, and then they killed you."

Senhamba Kayinga, 35, a farmer, corroborated a report by the student that refugees were killed as they approached the river. "Today we saw other people coming across the river," said Mr. Kayinga, who had gone back to the river bank to search for food. "When they were near to the river, there was gunfire. I saw people running very fast. At least 20 were killed."

At the sleepy Rusumo border crossing, two rebel officers were very polite with visitors; only a few soldiers were visible. The officers said that refugees were free to come and go, and that in fact several thousand had already gone back to Rwanda. But during two days, the narrow bridge was empty except for a handful of journalists, relief workers and visiting diplomats. Blood in the River

The waters of Rusumo Falls, which flow through Government-controlled territory before arriving here, provide evidence of a continuing slaughter. Dozens of bloated bodies bob in the eddies of the churning water. Many are women and children, some no more than five or six years old.

For the refugees who escape Rwanda, there is little here but misery and wretchedness. The latest wave, unlike those who came across on the main road in Rusumo, arrived with hardly any belongings.

Blankets, plastic sheeting and medicine has been airlifted by 15 United States Air Force C-141 transports to Mwanza, Tanzania, on Lake Victoria and then trucked 200 miles to the main refugee camp.

Just to feed the 250,000 already installed on the wide plain of Benaco Camp, a dozen miles from the border, the United Nations needs 155 tons of food a day, said Mr. Moumtzis, the local organizer. Because of bad weather and the remoteness of the area, trucks have managed to bring in less than 120 tons a day. The minimum food intake is 2,000 calories a day, but most refugees get only 1,300, Mr. Moumtzis said. A Long Trek to Help

For the newer refugees here, the biggest challenge is moving beyond Ntobeye, a four-hour uphill walk to a dirt road where trucks -- which at any rate are not available -- could pick them up and take them 30 miles to Benaco. The rains make life miserable.

In other areas, long lines of mud-caked refugees are trickling out onto the main road. At first hardly visible through the tall elephant grass, they form a steady stream of humanity, numb and silent. Some curl up to rest on the side of the road. Men push overloaded bicycles and herd bleating goats. Women balance sacks of meager possessions on their heads, babies tied to their backs. Ragged, barefoot children carry oversize loads without a complaint.

"We are all so tired," mumbled one man as he slowly trudged up a steep hill pushing his bicycle, his torn clothes wet with sweat.

Photo: Wearied by death and fear, a Rwandan woman has joined 50,000 refugees who have fled the capital to a camp at Rutare, 40 miles to the northeast. (Associated Press) Map shows the location of Ntobeye, Tanzania.